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Manitowoc County

The Manitowoc river or "river of spirits" is the largest and principal stream in the county. It originates in two main branches called the North and South Branches which have their origin near the two extremities of Lake Winnebago, and unite at the west line of this county. It drains about four hundred square miles of surface; & is navigable four miles to the foot of the rapids. From this point there is a series of rapids extending twelve miles, with an aggregate fall supposed to be about one hundred and forty feet. Above this point the current is gentle and the stream is navigable for canoes to within a few miles of Lake Winnebago.

A canal has been proposed along this river to Lake Winnebago for the purpose of bringing the trade of the country lying in that vicinity and west of it to Manitowoc instead of Green Bay. The distance is about forty miles and the summit, according to the survey of Capt. Cram, on the North Branch, is eighty five and a half feet above Lake Winnebago, and about